"I played better than I scored today. I still can't believe those two short putts. I hit them where I wanted to.

"I feel like I played a lot of good golf through those last five holes. I'll be fine."

Thomas endured a mediocre opening in Atlanta, where a double-bogey and a pair of bogeys to go with four birdies saw his advantage evaporate.

"It was frustrating obviously because they were so close," the American star said. "To drive it as bad or hit as few fairways as I did through 13 holes and miss a couple of putts, to come in to the house at 10 under feels pretty good."

While Thomas made a slow start, countryman Schauffele catapulted himself up the leaderboard thanks to the best round of the day.

Schauffele, who was six shots adrift when he teed off, carded a six-under-par 64 to move into a three-way tie for the lead.

Winner of the 2017 Tour Championship as he was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Schauffele said: "It was a good day. I told myself I'd keep my head down all of Thursday. The plan is to keep it down [Friday] and most of Saturday. It seemed to work today."

Koepka was third in the standings and three strokes behind Thomas before the FedEx Cup decider got underway on Thursday.

The four-time major champion had five birdies and two bogeys in a relatively steady opening to his campaign.

"It's nice to be tied for the last after the first day,'' he said. "I'm not very good at getting off to good starts, so I usually never get in that position. But it's nice. Three more days to grind it out and finish the year strong.''

The Solheim Cup singles will begin with the scores level at 8-8 after the United States erased their one-point deficit on day two at Gleneagles, which featured a sensational comeback from Europe's Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier.

Juli Inkster's USA, the holders of the trophy, fought back strongly in Saturday's afternoon fourballs after the spoils were shared in the morning foursomes.

On another day marred by slow play, the USA at one point held leads in all four afternoon matches and looked set to open up a handy advantage ahead of Sunday's singles.

However, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Caroline Masson rescued half a point for Europe against Lexi Thompson and Marina Alex, while Hall and Boutier somehow turned things around against Ally McDonald and Angel Yin.

Hall and Boutier, who have now triumphed in all three of their matches together, sensationally won each of the final five holes to earn victory, having been three down after four, four down after seven and still three down through 13.

In the other fourball matches, Brittany Altomare and Annie Park edged out Suzann Pettersen and Anne van Dam on the 18th, while Lizette Salas and Danielle Kang beat Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz 2up.

The USA opted to leave out the Korda sisters – Nelly and Jessica – in Saturday's second session despite the pair's unbeaten records, while Charley Hull was omitted by Europe.

Hull and Munoz beat Kang and Megan Khang 4 and 3 in the morning and there was a similarly emphatic victory for the Korda siblings, by 6 and 5 against Ciganda and Bronte Law.

Morgan Pressel and Alex pulled off a superb fightback to beat Anna Nordqvist and Van Dam 2 and 1, after falling four down through six, while Hall and Boutier were too strong for Salas and McDonald in a 3 and 2 victory.

Sergio Garcia holds a share of the lead with Callum Shinkwin going into the final day of the KLM Open, while Matt Wallace broke the course record with a 63 at The International.

Seeking a first win of 2019, his last triumph having come at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters last October, Garcia carded a third-round 66 in Amsterdam on Saturday.

That moved the former Masters champion to 15 under par for the tournament. He and Shinkwin sit two shots clear of Nicolai Hojgaard in third.

Overnight leader Scott Jamieson tumbled out of contention with a miserable four-over 76, a double bogey on the third setting the tone for a day to forget.

That opened the door for Garcia, who hit six birdies - including vital gains at 17 and 18 - in a bogey-free round that ensured he has only dropped one shot through 54 holes.

His chief competition on Sunday will come from world number 446 Shinkwin, who withdrew from his last two European Tour events after being affected by food poisoning followed by a back injury.

The Englishman matched Garcia's six-under effort on moving day courtesy of three birdies in the final five holes.

Shinkwin's compatriot James Morrison is within striking distance three strokes off the pace, just behind Denmark's Hojgaard.

Wallace is also in contention after a stunning round which was three shots better than anyone else in the field. He is in a tie for fifth with Matthew Southgate and Steven Brown, four shots behind the leaders at 11 under.

Further down the leaderboard, Patrick Reed shot 70 to move on to five under par – putting him 10 behind Garcia and Shinkwin.